Philippines: 27 dead, three missing in January storms

At least 27 people have died in floods that hit the Philippines in January, authorities said Sunday, as heavy rains continued to lash the disaster-prone island nation.

Floods and landslides caused by heavy rains had already killed 52 people and forced thousands more to flee their homes in the southern and central Philippines over the Christmas weekend.

From January 3 to yesterday, successive storms resulted in the loss of another 27 lives, while floods destroyed houses, roads and crops, the general secretariat of Civil Protection summarized in a report released yesterday.

Eleven other people were injured and three are missing, according to the same source.

The Philippine National Weather Service (PAGASA) has also issued an emergency severe weather warning for the Bicol Peninsula and Quezon Province, on the southern tip of the country’s main island, Luzon.

“Under these conditions, floods and landslides (…) are likely to hit areas very vulnerable” to disasters, PAGASA stressed in its emergency warning bulletin.

More than 83,000 people have taken refuge in flood reception centers, according to Civil Protection; more than 1,200 homes have been damaged or completely destroyed by the floods and rains of the past few weeks.

The Philippines is among the countries in the world that are characterized as the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Scientists have warned that the storms that hit the archipelago every year will become increasingly fierce as the temperature of the planet rises.

RES-EMP

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